A small passenger boat capsized in Laguna Lake, resulting in the loss of 26 lives, while three people remain missing.
The wooden outrigger, carrying approximately 70 passengers on its routine journey from Binangonan municipality to Talim Island, encountered strong winds that led to panic among the passengers, causing them to shift to the left side of the boat.
Rescue teams immediately sprang into action, but the situation proved dire.
“The boat sank in front of us while on its way home to the island,” said Frederic Sison, a witness and resident of Binangonan. The coast guard spokesperson, Rear Admiral Armando Balilo, clarified that the boat had clearance to sail and emphasized that there were no ongoing storms in the area at the time of the accident.
The incident occurred after Typhoon Doksuri had already exited the northern Philippines.
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Of the 70 individuals onboard, 40 survived the harrowing ordeal.
Rescue efforts are ongoing to find the three people who remain unaccounted for.
